I have no experience in video editing or using any of the two software. I have worked in Flash though. I have a video editing project to do in 4 weeks. Final product should be maybe 5-10 minutes long montage of video, audio, music and few images.

What is the best software to use? Easier to pick up in few weeks time? I need to buy it, install it, learn it and use it. All in 4 weeks.

I have Mac OS 10.6.8

Processor 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5

4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

My source footage is video .mp4 and audio m4a (I might not use this audio, it's boring...). Might use music instead.

A compositor composites multiple different elements to make a single image. Keying, Picture in Picture, adding titles, name supers, etc. Some of this can be done in an NLE, but a compositor is optimized for combining multiple sources into a single image.

Truth be told, I have done video editing. In Premier, no less, But it was years ago. Then I worked in Director (anybody remembers it?). Then I've done Flash animation lately. All nine yards; creative concept, storyboard, development...So, I'm not totally clueless...:) And very excited about this project!

I am looking into the 30-day trial version of Premier Pro. It says that the trial version does not have Adobe Encore, meaning, I cannot create a DVD in Premier. What does that mean?

Can I finish my project, export in some format onto my desktop for example, and then drag into a blank DVD, and then burn a DVD on my computer, not through Premier? Maybe this is a stupid question, sorry...

If you have used an older version of Premiere, you should be able to work with the newer version. Some names and places have been changed, and as more power has been added, there are a few different steps now, but still, it is basically the same.

That is the route that I would go.

You might help bring yourself up to speed by reading the articles, and watching the tutorials, linked in the PrPro FAQ Sub-forum.

So, I found this amazing tutorial on lynda.com, and it was immensely helpful to me:

"Creating a Mini Documentary with Premiere Elements" by Jason Osder from 3/15/2012

Now, I have two more very dumb questions:

1. What is the difference between Premier Pro and Premier Elements?

2. My source files are mp4 and m4a, and some mov. I need to post all raw files online first, so someone can pick which ones they want to use. So, I have these files and I have a web server. How do I post them so they become URLs anyone can see? If it matters, my the person who needs to review these files online, is on a PC, using IE8.

So, do I just upload them online and send her URLs once they become live. Or do I need to somehow convert to like .wmv or something, cause she's on a PC? Or do I need to place each file into an .html page, and then upload that? Please don't advise me to upload to youtube.com because I assume my viewer does not want her footage to be that public...

Lastly, can I change file names, to like video_1.mp4, video_2.mp4, etc. So, files rae easy to reference in our written correspondence...

Again, thank you so, so very much. If I could, I would bake a big cake for folks from this forum...:)